That's like me, Cheryl! Very intrigued but I'm not as knowledgeable as some of these plant ID geniuses here, so I'm doing my best to assist, and sent my portion to Dr. Dendro @ V.T. for help.

JRsbugs said:This isn't the norm we know, when referring to opposite we aren't normally looking at leaves which come directly from a tree trunk in 4 vertical rows.

You got that right. G'night!

@JamesAcclaims At least you know People! I just play in the dirt. But I'm here learning as fast as I can!

Identification and Biology of Non-Native Plants in Florida's Natural Areas
Editors : K.A. Langeland and K. Craddock Burks. Not in there.

I just noticed the photo of the base seems to have something blackish covering a swollen base. Unrelated to that I was looking through the Moringa genus and the two from Madagascar have some similarities. Still need more photos of a larger view of surrounding area with others of the trees with maybe fruit or flower. Any other visual data.

I still have a hard time believing it's real. If someone can ID, I give you a lot of credit!

I was looking at info on a different plant and an image of Moringa drouhardii popped up. I think you are on to something Leslieray

https://commons.wikimedia.org/...

http://www.healingmoringatree....

http://moringaceae.org/imgc-mo...

If we view this as leaves coming off a branch (in this case the trunk) the term for the arrangement would be opposite-decussate, if that helps anyone who is searching using keywords. I have to go in to work for the morning, hope to come back and find you've all solved the mystery

I haven't found a Moringa leaf which is anything like this plant.

https://www.google.co.uk/searc...

sooby said:If we view this as leaves coming off a branch (in this case the trunk) the term for the arrangement would be opposite-decussate, if that helps anyone who is searching using keywords. I have to go in to work for the morning, hope to come back and find you've all solved the mystery

I'm not so sure!

In an opposite pattern, if successive leaf pairs are perpendicular, this is called decussate.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... (drawing further down the page)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

I have other things to do at the moment, might get back to it later and hope someone has found it.

Key to Heteropanax species .. we might need fruits to follow it!

http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/c...

JamesAcclaims, Thank you for sending the photos. I hope they will be able to help.

I will try and get more photos this evening, but I'm not sure if surroundings will really help here because there are only 3 plants and are all growing in a grass area of about 50 ft. I know the area very well and have not seen these growing anywhere else.

Also I have never seen fruits or flowers, so I will have to keep an eye out for that. I have no idea what this plant's cycle is. If someone has an idea of when it might bear flowers and fruit, that would be helpful.

"Heteropanax fragrans minimum germination" is mentioned on this research article:

Seed Germination in Lowland Tropical Rainforest Trees: Interspecies, Canopy and Fruit Type Variations

http://scialert.net/fulltext/?...

It might be that if it is a Heteropanax specie then germination "might" not be the same. Some species seeds have very poor germination rates, others are good. It might only flower once every few years.

I would think the flowers come from the top of the stem as some in this family do.

I've been looking for Heteropanax in Asia as that seems to be where it originates but so far not much luck.

A clue: "Dietary use and conservation concern of edible wetland plants at indo-burma hotspot: a case study from northeast India"

38. Srivastava RC, Singh RK, Mukherjee TK. Bioculturally important rare new plant species of Heteropanax Seems (Araliaceae) from Eastern Himalaya, Arunachal Pradesh. Indian J Tradi Knowle. 2010;9(2):242–244.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pm...

Heteropanax is in "The Araliaceae of Thailand"

http://www.tci-thaijo.org/inde...

A photo of Heteropanax fragrans in the list of Flowers of India:

http://www.flowersofindia.net/...

It's food for silkworm larvae:

http://bieap.gov.in/Pdf/SeriPa...

Fruit anatomical characters studied herein confirm the inclusion of Delarbrea and Myodocarpus in Apiales, but as a distinct group, corroborating previous studies (based on molecular data) in the recognition of Myodocarpaceae as a new family. The fruits of these genera share some features with those of Apiaceae (especially subfamilies Mackinlayoideae and Azorelloideae) and Araliaceae, including branching and anastomosing vascular bundles and secretory canals, woody endocarps, the presence of single ventral bundles or carpophores, and dispersed crystals. However, the presence of median wings in Myodocarpus and secretory vesicles in the mesocarps (adjacent to the woody endocarp) in both genera are unknown in any other genus of the order. Fruit characters are also useful in distinguishing Delarbrea, which produces drupes with a single ventral vascular bundle and sclereids in the mesocarp, from Myodocarpus, which has schizocarps with a single carpophore and lacks sclereids. Delarbrea balansae, once treated as the sole member of Pseudosciadium, shares all the distinctive fruit features with the other species of Delarbrea, further supporting its transfer there.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/4...

Myodocarpaceae:

https://www.google.co.uk/searc...

http://flickrhivemind.net/Tags...

So, Dr. Dendro was completely perplexed and says that he will try to research, however, he has passed our quandary on to his colleague, Dr. Seiler - Professor of Forest Biology.

Dr. Dendro said:...I have never seen anything of the sort, and much like you, at first glance, I thought this tree to be a fraud. I may not be of sufficient help...

Someone has to know what this tree is!

This is fascinating. I don't understand half of what you're all talking about, but please don't stop. Inquiring minds need to know!

CarolHB said:This is fascinating. I don't understand half of what you're all talking about, but please don't stop. Inquiring minds need to know!

It is fascinating!

I too don't understand much of what is being said. But I am enthralled.

Wasn't really the surroundings but more group shot to see the range of sizes of the plants. If there is only one mature tree Then it's likely it could be self fertile. I'd check for latex or sap. Smell it. Anything for a clue.